Ptarmigan
Ptarmigan
Bird
A plump, cold-adapted bird that lives on high mountains and Arctic tundra.
💡 Fun Facts
- They are the only birds in the world that moult into a completely white plumage for winter.
- Their feet are heavily feathered to act as snowshoes and provide insulation.
- They often bury themselves in the snow to stay warm during blizzards.
Name Story
Lagopus muta
means “the silent hare-foot”
What does its name mean?
- Lagopus — hare-footGreek lagōs 'hare' + pous 'foot', for its furry, feathered feet
- muta — mute, silentLatin, for its low croak rather than a song
- ptarmigan — the Gaelic name for the bird — with a faked silent 'p'Scottish Gaelic tàrmachan; the silent 'p' was added by mistake
Its feet are feathered right down over the toes like a hare's snowshoes, and its voice is a dry croak rather than a song. Best of all, the silent 'p' at the start of 'ptarmigan' is completely fake — scholars added it long ago to make a Gaelic word look like Greek!